


Feline Trouble

by snowmissus (soul_of_blaze)



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Cats, Gen, M/M, Pre-Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, kind of its just mostly clearly awkward flirting on bilbos part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 09:19:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11780124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_of_blaze/pseuds/snowmissus
Summary: Bilbo tries to adopt a new cat. Somehow, he ends up with two and an unexpected crush.





	Feline Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> maplegh0st said:  
> If you're still looking for fluffy bagginshield prompts, how about something with cute dogs or cats? Bilbo wants to adopt a cat or dog and the handsome volunteer helps him meet the animals. Or Thorin and Bilbo meet a la 101 Dalmatians.  
> \--
> 
> im not sure i filled this properly but i think this is cute? these two being awkward is cute to me. also i accidentally wrote a lot more than i planned for it

The general sound of several animals in one area greeted them as Bilbo, holding tightly onto Frodo’s hand, stepped into the shelter. This was the third shelter they had visited and he prayed that it might be their last. Thus far, Frodo had yet to find a cat that liked him and that he liked back. If this wasn’t the one…

An exasperated noise left his lips as his nephew slipped his grip quickly.

“Frodo, please!” Bilbo sighed, watching as the boy ran down the lines of cages. He poked his fingers into the cages, which Bilbo would scold him for but there was no one around. They had made the decision, after months of being without a furry companion, to seek out a new cat.

He’d been admittedly reluctant. Smaug had been his cat for nearly fifteen years. Frodo hadn’t gotten on very well with the cat but something about him must have stuck. The lad had been begging after a few weeks for another cat. Part of him thought it might be good to bring in another cat, especially one that might like Frodo too.

They had very little luck so far and it was nearing time for them to stop, probably. No doubt soon Frodo would be worn out but at the moment, he had focused on a particular cage.

Bilbo cast a look around the place. There wasn’t anyone come to help them yet. He grumbled but brushed it off and walked over to Frodo. The boy nearly had his face pressed against the bars. It was a little hard to get a good look but he appeared to be attempting to pet a kitten within the cage.

“Who’ve you got there?” Bilbo crouched down next to him and Frodo looked up.

“A kitten!” Frodo wiggled his fingers at the kitten, who didn’t seem very enthused about them.

“You want to pet him?”

Bilbo nearly hit his head against one of the cages as he startled. He turned to face the owner of the voice.

He tried to keep his jaw from dropping.

The man that had approached them was unfairly attractive. No one should be allowed to be that attractive, in fact, and it made Bilbo unreasonably angry. That was the feeling in his chest, anger… not... not anything else.

Also, the man was clearly wearing a shirt for the shelter. And he had a nametag. _Thorin._

Thorin had his hair pulled back, away from his face in a long, loose braid. The man also sported a frankly gorgeous beard. This was completely unfair. Bilbo ignored the man’s eyes, trying to keep his heart rate at a normal pace.

Frodo remained unaffected, of course, and his natural affinity toward socialization only propelled him into nodding excitedly. He even managed to move out of the way as the man moved to retrieve the kitten from the cage. Bilbo did not.

Their arms brushed against each other and Thorin glanced at Bilbo as he handed the kitten to Frodo. Then Thorin smiled, while Frodo cooed at the kitten.

Bilbo looked at Frodo and the kitten.

“What’s his name?”

“This is Hershey,” said Thorin, reaching to scratch behind the kitten’s ears.

Well. The soft brown kitten is aptly named at least. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want to stay in Frodo’s arms. Bilbo can see the pout forming on the boy’s face and he’s about to jump in.

“Hm, maybe not.” Thorin smiled at Frodo, carefully taking back the kitten. “Did you have a pet before?”

“We did,” interrupted Bilbo, “but…”

“I understand,” Thorin assured him, smiling as he put the kitten back in his cage. “Kittens are nice but sometimes older cats will make better companions. I have a few in mind.”

Bilbo managed to move away from Thorin, standing up as the man headed towards the other side of the cages. While he’s unlocking one of them, Bilbo helped Frodo to his feet. The lad seemed less upset than Bilbo would have predicted, given the kitten’s dislike of him.

Thorin brought over a cat, who did not seem entirely too happy to be taken from his cage. The man made a few shushing noises, which somehow seemed to calm the cat down a fraction. He knelt down next to Frodo, letting him pet the cat gently.

“This is Smeagol.”

“Smeagol?” Bilbo wrinkled his nose. An odd name for a cat, but… he supposed it was none less strange than Smaug’s name.

“The name he came in with,” Thorin said, glancing at Bilbo. His mouth twitched in amusement. “Also…”

Thorin stood up, fetching another cat. Bilbo didn’t see why, as Frodo and Smeagol were currently getting along just fine. Smeagol at least seemed to appreciate (or tolerate) Frodo’s rather aggressive petting style.

The cat that Thorin brought back did not look like Smeagol at all. While Smeagol had fur and appeared soft (based on Frodo’s insistent pets), this cat had no fur at all. Bilbo guessed it was sphinx. He’d thought they always looked strange but Thorin held the cat no different than the others. He seemed as appreciative of this cat as the others.

Bilbo had to admire that.

“This is Gollum,” Thorin said, and continued on quickly, “don’t give me that look. He came with Smeagol, they’ve never been apart from what we know. So… if you adopted Smeagol, you would have to adopt Gollum too. And it’s a good idea to have two cats together—“

The man almost seemed frantic and Bilbo cut him off with a bit of a smile.

“Listen, if Frodo likes Smeagol, which he seems to, then we will take them both.” He looked at Gollum, who clung to Thorin’s shoulder. “I don’t have it in me to separate them.”

“Let’s see how he likes Frodo, then,” said Thorin, placing the cat down next to Smeagol.

Immediately the cat relaxed, most likely at the nearness of his fellow feline. Frodo gave him a strange look and then reached out to pet him too. Quickly, both cats were accustomated to his petting and Frodo looked delighted.

“Can we get them both, please Uncle?”

“Well…” Bilbo glanced over at Thorin with a smile. “I don’t see why not.”

As they went through the entire process of adopting the two cats, making sure they had everything in order, Bilbo smiled while Frodo tried to hold them both. Thorin ended up carrying Gollum while Frodo handled Smeagol. The process took longer than he wanted but it went smoother than he had been expecting. They ended up chasing Gollum into the old carrier. Thorin had assured them that Smeagol could go a car ride without one. 

Bilbo closed the door to the car, making sure that Frodo had Smeagol securely in his lap and that Gollum in the carrier wouldn't be making a fuss on the drive home. He startled when a hand fell on his shoulder. 

He turned around and stared at Thorin, his mouth open to scold. The man smiled at him and Bilbo forgot what he had been preparing to say. 

"Listen," Thorin said, holding out a card, "new cats can be difficult sometimes. If you have any problems, I'm more than willing to help. I know they're a handful but I've been working with them for ages. So. You know."

"Uh," Bilbo said, dumbly, "yeah. Thanks."

He felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment as Thorin headed back into the shelter. God. This was just silly. 

-

What Bilbo did not expect to be dealing with, a few weeks into owning the cat duo, was the constant hiding Gollum did and the rather rude attitude he had towards Bilbo himself. Smeagol did not seem to care about him much, but both cats followed Frodo around the house. On one hand, Bilbo felt relief. He could deal with a distrustful cat and an apathetic cat, if they liked Frodo this much.

On the other hand… he was tired of having his ankles swatted at when Gollum was in a mood.

Frodo happened to be spending the night at Sam’s and Bilbo gave into the temptation to treat the problem while he was gone. Also, he might be a tad embarrassed about inviting Thorin over.

But he had given his number to Bilbo, in case they ran into any problems with the two.

He tapped out the number, fumbling a little with his phone. Frodo had insisted that Bilbo have a cell phone, but he hated using it. The texting option did come in handy, though… he wouldn’t have to sound like an idiot on the phone.

Thorin replied much faster than Bilbo could muster. Clearly, he was better at technology than Bilbo was. He tried to not let it frustrate him.

He looked around the condo with a sigh. Smeagol slept peacefully, uncaring, on the sofa. However, he had no idea where Gollum had run off to. They’d have to hunt him down.

After thinking for a moment, Bilbo refilled their food dishes. That might draw Gollum out, considering the only time that he didn’t dislike Bilbo was when he fed the two. As he moved back to the front room, a knock sounded on the door. He breathed in, smoothed down his shirt then shook his head at himself. What was he doing?

The man was just over to help him with the cat problem. That was it.

Bilbo pinched his nose, feeling an annoyance at himself. He opened the door a second later, smiling half-heartedly at Thorin on the other side.

“Hi.”

“Hello, uh… Mr. Baggins.” Thorin made a strange face but Bilbo let him in, waiting for him to remove his shoes.

“You can just call me Bilbo,” he insisted, closing the door quietly. Thorin cast a look around the room before glancing back to Bilbo.

“Seems like there isn’t anything obvious aggravating him,” Thorin said, stepping further inside. Bilbo bit the inside of his cheek. “And you said that he’s getting along fine with Frodo?”

“That’s right,” Bilbo sighed. Smeagol had risen from his positon on the couch. He ran over and begun rubbing affectionately against Thorin’s leg. Bilbo glared at the cat. _Really._ “I’m fine with the indifference this one treats me with but…”

“Well, we can warm them both up to you.” Thorin reached down, scratching the top of Smeagol’s head. “Where’s Gollum?”

“Hiding, I think,” Bilbo said. That, or he had come out to eat. Bilbo peeked into room where he kept their food. Ah.

Thorin approached from behind, stealing a look into the room from over Bilbo’s shoulder. Bilbo squared his shoulders, focusing on not making any noise. Gollum would probably flee if he noticed Bilbo.

The man made a noise and backed up, letting Bilbo breathe again.

“I really don’t think there’s anything amiss. He might have just warmed up to Frodo faster than you. Smeagol likes petting, so you should try to pet him with Frodo nearby or when he seems a good mood.”

“Great,” Bilbo managed, stepping away from Thorin and the door. “What about Gollum?”

“He’s just…” Thorin made a strange noise. “Shy? You’ve probably figured out that food is the way to him. Come on.”

Thorin walked back to the main room. He pulled out a can of wet food, which Bilbo didn’t use for the cats often. The sound of it opening piqued Smeagol’s interest and did bring Gollum out of the cat room, though he stayed cautiously at the door.

To Bilbo’s surprise, Thorin proceeded to sit on the ground and set it front of him. Then he gestured Bilbo over. He wasn’t really sure what the plan was here. It didn’t seem to be standing awkwardly next to Thorin, though, as the man pulled him down by his wrist when he didn’t sit.

“What are we doing?”

“Waiting,” answered Thorin, though he did look at Bilbo. “He’s shy, he doesn’t like new people. But he does like food. If we give him some time, he’ll come over.”

They sat there. Waiting. Bilbo didn’t know how to feel about the approach but after a while Thorin struck up conversation.

“Where’s your boy?”

“Ah, he’s at a friends for a sleepover.” Bilbo picked at a loose string. He didn’t want to admit that the whole reason he had invited Thorin over was because of that.

“Well,” Thorin hummed, “like I said… if they both like Frodo, you might have a better time bonding with them if he’s in the room too. They’re be more open with a familiar and trusted face.”

He felt a nudge at his hand and glanced down, sort of expecting a sudden bout of affection from Gollum. Instead, Thorin pressed cat food into his hand. Ew.

Bilbo wrinkled his nose. Then he noticed Gollum had approached the food and was eating it. Thorin nudged him again, pushing his hand forward. His hand moving caught the cat’s attention and after a moment of trepidation, Gollum proceeded to eat the food from his hand too.

It didn’t magically make things better between them but the cat seemed settled with Bilbo for the moment. He would have to go forward with Thorin’s advice about petting him when Frodo was around.

He glanced at Thorin, smiling. He felt his face flush when the man smiled back at him.

Bilbo quickly went to wash his hand of the cat food, watching out of the corner of his eye as Thorin petted Gollum.

“So, ah, do you want dinner?”

“Pardon?” Thorin looked up from Gollum.

“I feel like I should thank you,” Bilbo focused on the sink, “I mean I asked you to come out here on a Friday night, to… feed my cats.”

Thorin laughed, startling Gollum away. But then he flashed Bilbo a frankly unfairly dazzling smile. “Sure. I’d like that.”


End file.
